Sunny Halifax

Once we checked out we walked around to the backside of the hotel to the lake and sat for a bit. The water was very clear and I enjoyed watching a tiny fish about the size of my pinkie flutter it's fins. It just kind of hovered over a rock near my feet. Wonder if it thought I'd feed it. A mallard then came over to check us out. He swam really close by, stopped on a rock to scratch an itch, and then slowly swam on by.

Then Carol and Megan dropped me off at the hostel downtown as they are heading back to Maine today. The reception was closed for lunch, so I walked over to a nearby park, laid down and read my book for a few hours, using my pack as a headrest. Today was the first warm, completely dry, sunny day I've seen in a long time. Twas fabulous.

After I checked in at 2pm I walked towards the store that had the little wall hanging I saw a few days ago. I stopped for a brief visit at an old cemetery in the middle of downtown Halifax. It was so old I couldn't really read the gravestones. When I entered the store I immediately noticed that the wall hangings I liked weren't in the same spot and I had a little panic. That's when I knew that if they still had them, I needed to buy one. Which I did. I also bought a card of a clothesline watercolor painting. All around PEI and Nova Scotia there are lots of colorful clotheslines. I wanted to try and snap a photo of a good one but never had the opportunity. So framing this card will be just as good. The shop also had a book about the local clothesline culture.

Next I went and had coffee and read my book some more. People watched as well. It is so much nicer walking around Halifax on a sunny day. People were actually out and about, compared to when we walked around a few days ago when it was raining and desolate.

I then headed over to a watch repair shop before they closed to replace my battery. So nice to have my watch back in business.

Wandering a bit more I stopped at a bench and read a few more chapters. I was right by a Boston Pizza chain. While I've mainly seen Bruins jersey wearing fans around, this restaurant had used black tape to cross out 'Boston' on all their doors and wrote in marker 'Vancouver'. They even changed the 'B' to a 'V' in the logo, making it 'Vancouver's Pizza' for the finals.

Having only had a muffin and coffee, at around 4pm I decided to just hold out and wait for Jane's to open for dinner. Canadians eat pretty early; Jane's is open for dinner from 5-9pm. Last night I had a hard time deciding between two dinner options, and all day today as I walked by restaurants I'd peak at the menu to see if anything sounded enticing for later. Nothing seemed as good as Jane's. It was a bit of a walk to the outskirts of town and totally worth it. While a car is pretty much necessary to get around the last few provinces, it was nice to walk all day today. I had another great meal at Jane's. They placed me in the exact same seat I had last night. The other 3 patrons eating dinner on the early side were all sitting by themselves as well, so I fit right in.

Speaking of fitting in, it has been nice to not be a noticeable tourist, both appearance and language wise.

After dinner I walked around the citadel. The locals use the lawns as if it were a regular park. I walked by the common as well where there were several intramural games going on. Lots of soccer, softball, and football. Halifaxians are very active. I walked by lots of joggers, boot camp groups, horseback riders, and several full tennis courts.

I'm now taking a little horizontal break in the hostel before heading over to the Halifax Alehouse to watch game 4. Go Canucks!

When I get home I'll shower and get dressed into my flight attire. Alarm is already set for 3:30am when I'll walk over to the nearby Westin and hop on the Airporter bus.

Canadian adventure to-be-continued in Vancouver in August.